But it was Mr Brown’s passionate speech which triggered the most cheers.

Speaking without notes, the former Labour leader made a direct appeal to wavering voters to think of the “real risks” of independence.

“This is not the fear of the unknown – this is now the risks of the known,” he said. “An economic minefield where problems could implode at any time, an economic trapdoor down which we go from which we might never escape.”

The risks he said included uncertainty over the currency and Mr Salmond’s threat to default on national debt. He said prices would rise along with interest and mortgage rates.

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And in a direct challenge to Mr Salmond’s claim that to vote Yes is the patriotic thing to do, Mr Brown said: “Tell the Nationalists, it’s not their flag, their culture, their country or their streets. Tell them it’s everyone’s flag, everyone’s culture, everyone’s country and everyone’s streets.

“And tell them that our patriotic vision is bigger than nationalism; we want Scotland not leaving the UK, but leading the UK, and through leading the UK, leading in the world.”

Mr Brown stressed that the vote is “for all time” and cannot be undone. “If you have any doubts about the future unresolved, any questions unanswered, any risks unexplained, if you don’t know, then you have to vote ‘No’.

“Hold yourselves with dignity. Have confidence. Our values are the values of the people of Scotland. Our future lies in co-operation and sharing, and not in separation and splitting apart. That unity is our strength. Have the confidence to stand up, be counted and say for Scotland’s sake: not now, not this time, not the risks, no thanks.”

Last night Mr Salmond told his supporters an independent Scotland would be the rest of the UK’s “closest friend, most honest counsel and most committed ally”. Mr Salmond, who again toured the country by helicopter, made his final campaign appearance at a Yes rally in Perth Concert Hall.

The SNP leader urged voters to grasp the “opportunity of a lifetime” to seize power from the “Westminster establishment”. He said: “To our friends in the rest of the United Kingdom, I say this. We don’t seek division, but rather equality. A new, better and harmonious relationship founded on our enduring bonds of family and culture. What we seek is a relationship of equals in these isles for our mutual advantage.”

Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson said last night: “We are not being asked to pick a government for five years, but to choose whether or not to break our country apart forever.”